Da Mario Covent Garden — Restaurant in London

My wife and I grew up eating Italian food multiple times a week. A night out was going to an Italian restaurant. Once we had some money, a fancy night out would be a nicer Italian restaurant. It’s safe to say we’ve each tried over 100 different Italian restaurants.

Di Mario for me stands close to, if not at, the top of the list. The second you walk in, the host and waitstaff greet you. They ask if you’re headed to the theater and need your food expedited, or if you’re in for a more relaxed pace. This attention to detail made me feel valued and catered to. Waitstaff is very attentive. They’re friendly and talkative but not intrusive.

You’re required to order an entree and starter per person, but I didn’t mind that at all. My wife and I split each starter and had plenty of room for our meals. The portions weren’t huge, but they were just right. We each got pasta dishes, mine with swordfish. The pasta was fresh, the sauce loose enough to cover every inch of pasta but thick enough to stick to it. The swordfish was not tough or rubbery which happens easily when it’s in chunks and mixed with hot pasta and sauce.

The tiramisu was probably the best I’ve ever had at a restaurant. The savoiardi ladyfingers had the perfect balance of Marsala and espresso and was not soggy. My wife and I cleaned our plate, it was just that good. They then offered us complementary limoncello.

The bill wasn’t too bad despite being in central London. It wasn’t cheap, but it didn’t break the bank either.

When it was time to leave, the host helped my wife and I put on our jackets. Again, very kind and attentive staff going the extra mile.

The atmosphere is classic white tablecloth, close-together tables, and classics from Sinatra, Martin, etc. There’s a beautiful nostalgic feeling to the place.

We had some delicious food while in London, but Di Mario is the only place I would go out of my way to...

If I could give -0 to this restaurant I would. We have booked on the 30th of August at 20.20 pm under my name for 3 people and we were welcomed warmly, once sitted, the waiter didn't even give us 5 minutes to chose our drinks and put on us a huge pressure " to rush" we thought he was new although seemed mature for his age but in fact he wasn't the only one to make us feel incredibly "rushed" it's like waiters and also the other people working in there especially a chubby short woman with sun tanned skin wearing a black jacket kept walking back and forth non stop and kept staring at us, taking glasses when we were still drinking, it was obvious they wanted us to leave as soon as possible although the restaurant closes at 11 pm !.

Food was good, service absolutely terrible that even if it was the best food we wouldn't come back.

The bill... the same chubby short woman who brought us the bill she put on the receipt a total of approx £ 87 then she bring the machine for payment and by herself she added another total of £92 ...if service charge was added then it should be added on the receipt as well so the customer can see it first !!! But no, she added this by herself and made us pay it ...without too much choice to remove this service charge as we were extremely unsatisfied with this service.

What bothered us is really the lack of professionalism, we don't mind paying a great amount of money and tips if we enjoyed the service, we are fair people.

Such a shame, we were all Italians not realising for the restaurant staff that we come from the literary and entertainment industry and they played their cards terribly!.

In a moment of crisis like this, serving all customers with professionalism and equality would have boosted their customers agenda, especially from us that we are connected with big names.

Definitely not a restaurant to recommend to our friends and...

Fantastic experience from start to finish.

We initially rung the restaurant (last minute) to try make a reservation, and were told there was no availability in side, but if we came down to the restaurant early, the terrace section of the restaurant was first come first served (which we were happy to accept).

5 minutes later, the owner phoned back, saying they could reserve a table for us outside ( 2 adults, 2 children under 10). Which we are so happy we did.

From the moment we arrived in true Italian style, we felt instantly welcome from all the members of staff.

We found service attentive, extremely efficient, and friendly, plus the menu variety and depth was excellent. Compliments and Kudos to the head chef as it's clear, a great amount of thought and expertise has gone into the menu selection.

Eating out with a young family is always a concern of ours, but the staff made a real genuine extra effort with our children to make them welcome, which was a great attribute that instantly made us all feel at ease.

The food standards were excellent, well presented, competitively priced, and served faultlessly. The highlights were the high-quality seafood and the fresh, well cooked asparagus.

Overall, it was a great, very personal experience from start to finish that we as a family can't recommend highly enough.

The owner was also a great host. Even on his day off, he was at his restaurant speaking to all his customers and attentively making sure everything was perfect and everyone was happy. (As a business owner myself, this is an attribute you can only admire and respect)

We will definitely be back next time we are in London, Thanks again for the great evening...